General Zod
: "I exist only to protect Krypton. That is the sole purpose for which I was born. And every action I take, no matter how violent or how cruel, is for the greater good of my people." : ― Dru-Zod to Kal-El General Dru-Zod was a Kryptonian war criminal and former leader of the Warrior Guild who later founded the Sword of Rao, leading them during the events of the Kryptonian Civil War. Managing to survive the destruction of his native planet of Krypton and escaping from his Phantom Zone imprisonment, he viewed the purpose of his life to be the successful re-establishment of Krypton on another planet. General Zod was the first great enemy of the hero Superman, whom ultimately defeated and killed him in combat after a prolonged devastating duel in the heart of Metropolis, during the Battle of Metropolis Zod notably killed many Wayne Enterprises employees before going down. After his death, Zod's corpse was key to the committee studying Superman learning about the Kryptonite xenomineral being the greatest weakness of all Kryptonians. The general's corpse was later acquired by malevolent supergenius Lex Luthor, who used the corpse, as well as his own blood, to carry out an ancient and long-forbidden Kryptonian ritual, thereby creating the mighty and ferocious hybrid Kryptonian monster, Doomsday. Biography Early Life Zod was born on the distant planet Krypton in the huge capital megacity of Kandor, with him being genetically engineered in a Genesis Chamber as a commanding leader and fierce warrior. He was one in a long line of warriors all who served in the Kryptonian Warrior Guild, rising all the way to the rank of 'General' (leader of the entire Guild), from which he was formally known as "General Zod". Zod was placed in charged of the Warrior Guild on Krypton and was fiercely devoted to his duty and his 'people'. Zod also had a strong mutual respect for Jor-El, Krypton's leading scientist. The pair were friends in their youth, with them sharing a common goal of revitalising Krypton, of turning their complacent, ageing society from its self-destructive path, and igniting a new era of innovation and exploration. But in time, they had arrived at radically different visions of the future. Jor-El put his faith in science and reason, while Zod had embraced force - as well as dubious theories of eugenics. Kryptonian Civil War Believing the Kryptonian Law Council too weak in the running of their race, Zod decides he needs to take charge to make sure Krypton survives and founds the Sword of Rao movement to severe the "degenerative bloodlines" and start anew on a new planet. He and a few men arrive at the Legislation Chamber where Jor-El is in session with them, with Zod swiftly killing High Eminence Ro-Zar. He informs his former good friend Jor-El of his plans, but the latter rejects Zod, telling him it is madness. Saddened by the newfound rift with his former friend, Zod has his men take Jor-El away, whilst Zod informs the Council of his plans, before having his second-in-command, Faora, take them into custody. When told that Jor-El had escaped and also stole the Growth Codex, Zod and a few men travel to the House of El Homestead Citadel, where Zod confronts Jor-El face to face as Lara Lor-Van launches Kal-El off planet. Believing Jor-El to turn his back on his friend, Zod battles Jor-El and after a hard fought fight stabs his friend with the blade from his armour. Saddened at what he had to do to his friend, he and his followers were arrested by loyalist forces. Captured, Zod and his minions were put on trial before the Kryptonian Law Council, with several bureaucrats and Lara Lor-Van present. High Eminence Lor-Em sentenced them to 300 years of somatic reconditioning inside the fearsome Phantom Zone. Zod approached Lara and declared that sending their illegal son away wasn't enough and that he wasn't safe and he will find him. The ship descended on Kandor and Zod and his cohorts boarded and went through the Phantom Zone Projector for their sentence. Krypton's core gave way as Jor-El had earlier predicted and the ripple effect of its destruction broke the boundaries of the Phantom Zone allowing the Black Zero ship to escape. Seeing their planet had been destroyed, Zod declared the Black Zero his new flagship and began searching the universe for surviving Kryptonian colonies finding a dead colony and a World Engine, which they take with them. Soon they pick up a Kryptonian beacon and follow it to the planet Earth in search of Kal-El and a suitable new home. Arrival on Earth The Black Zero entered the Earth's outer atmosphere where General Zod used his flagship to transmit a message to the planet Earth's primitive computers where every device on the planet would transmit his message. He request they give him Kal-El, promising that otherwise, Earth would suffer consequences of apocalyptic proportions. After receiving a message that Kal-El is to be handed over, Zod promptly sends his second-in-command, Faora, in a dropship to pick up Kal-El and also the human Lois Lane. They are brought aboard where Black Zero's atmosphere disrupts Kal's abilities and nullifies them. Zod has him strapped down and Jax-Ur take some of his blood before subjecting Kal-El and Lois to mind probing, where Zod projects images into Kal-El's head of a fallen human race. Lois Lane had brought aboard Jor-El's AI who helps her escape and avoid capture into an escape pod which jettisons to Earth. Whilst Zod's forces try to recapture Lois, Kal-El uses his returned strength to escape his binds and escapes after receiving encouragement of Jor-El. Showdown in Smallville Zod and his men boarded drop ships and tracked Kal's ship to Smallville and to the Kent Farm to obtain the Codex. They departed and were greeted by Martha Kent who denied any knowledge of an alien named Kal-El to protect Clark. Faora found the ship in the barn but discovered the Codex wasn't there and they threatened Martha to give up it's location which she doesn't know. With Zod prepared to strike her, Kal-El appeared, and angrily tackled Zod away, landing in downtown Smallville. Zod was still getting used to his powers under the yellow sun and with his visor damaged, his senses began to subdue him. Faora and one of Zod's soldiers arrived and began engaging Kal-El in battle before he subdued them with his experience and more solar power. Realizing they were outmatched for the time being, Zod and his followers retreated to Black Zero. Where they learned that Codex wasn't in Kal's ship, but inside his body, in his individual cells which can be extracted from him, alive or dead. Battle of Metropolis After recovering on board the Black Zero, Zod orders the release of the World Engine, which is dropped off in the south Indian Ocean before Black Zero is taken to Metropolis. Zod orders for them both to be activated whilst he travels to the Arctic where he finds Scout Ship 0344 and after seeing Jor-El's AI, turns it off before flying the ship to Metropolis. Kal-El, now known as "Superman", arrives after destroying the World Engine, and crashes into the ship and brings it down crashing through several buildings into the ground. Colonel Hardy then flies a USAF C-17 cargo plane containing Superman's ship along with Faora into the Black Zero, creating a singularity which sucks the Black Zero (with Tor-An, Nam-Ek, Jax-Ur, Car-Vex, Nadira, and Gor), along with the human military plane (with Colonel Hardy, Dr. Hamilton, and Faora). Death Having lost all his men in an instant as well as his sole purpose of life, an enraged General Zod engages Superman, vowing to get revenge by killing the entire human race. After the two mighty aliens first clash, Zod sends Superman flying right through a skyscraper, into the Wayne Financial building. There, Zod's heat vision power suddenly activates, and he slashes the building violently, making it begin to collapse upon them both. Superman promptly flies out, with Zod following suit, but the fallen building kills dozens of employees (including Jack O'Dwyer), much to the horror of Bruce Wayne, who witnesses it from afar. In addition, Wallace Keefe would be permanently crippled, while a little girl would be orphaned following the building's collapse. Zod and Superman continue their ferocious battle all across Metropolis, throwing tremendously mighty punch after punch at each other, destroying more skyscrapers, before Zod tears off his armour and finally gains his ability to fly. The fight then takes to the sky and temporarily in outer space, before the two come crashing down back into Metropolis Central Station, where Zod violently unleashes his heat vision upon innocent civilians. Superman grapples Zod and tries to avert his heat vision reaching the civilians, but he is inevitably forced to snap Zod's neck, killing him, much to his own dismay. Legacy Eighteen months after the Battle of Metropolis, the United States government studied the corpse of Zod in Superman's Fortress in Heroes Park. While Senator June Finch rejected Lex Luthor's request to study and analyze the body of Zod and the Kryptonian vessel, Senator Barrows covertly granted Lex access in a mutual relationship. During his studies, Lex discovered that exposure from Kryptonite decayed the cells of Kryptonian DNA, and significantly weakened Zod to mortal standards. Later, Lex cut off the fingerprints of Zod's hand with a scalpel to access the inner sanctum of the scout ship. Before Lex initiates his scheme to propel Superman into fighting Batman, he brings the corpse of Zod to the Genesis Chamber of Scout Ship 0344. Kelor warns Lex of the ban of genetic modification by the Kryptonian Law Council, but Lex ignores this and the Genesis Chamber begins to genetically modify the body of Zod, combined with his own blood, to re-create Doomsday. Powers and Abilities Powers * Kryptonian Physiology: As a Kryptonian, General Zod's bone structure is almost identical to that of a human. On a planet near a red star, like Krypton, Zod would have physical attributes nearly identical to those of humans, but while on a planet near a yellow star, like Earth, he has many new abilities and powers, all of them far beyond the capabilities of humans and even metahumans, making him appear godlike. While Zod's body initially had problems adapting to the new planet's atmosphere, he was able to do so shortly before his final battle with fellow Kryptonian Superman. Due to Zod's ruthlessness and complete lack of restraint, he never withheld his tremendous power, which initially allowed him to dominate Superman, with Zod claiming that he would single-handedly wipe out the entire human race. Indeed, it was mainly due to having General Zod's corpse as the genetic template that Doomsday had such unparalleled power. ** Superhuman Strength: General Zod has a tremendous level of superhuman strength, virtually incalculable, as he is able to carry millions of tons. He can generate large shock-waves with his mighty punches, he can effortlessly hurl cars, trucks, and massive artificial satellites great distances, instantly destroy mountain tops, and fight evenly against and even gain the upper hand against Superman, who barely managed to defeat Zod. *** Super Leaps: General Zod is able to use his incredible strength to perform super jumps, such as when he scaled a skyscraper in only a few leaps, while pursuing Superman. ** Superhuman Stamina: General Zod almost never grows tired if he is continuously powered by the yellow sun of Earth. He doesn't need to eat, sleep, or breathe. He is able to survive flying into outer space and diving underwater. He ferociously battled with Superman without ever needing to slow down and catch his breath. ** Superhuman Speed: General Zod can run, fly and react at incredible supersonic speeds (of over Mach 900). During his final duel, Zod was able to land several blows on Superman before the latter could react. The only known being capable of moving slightly faster than General Zod is the speedster Flash. *** Superhuman Reflexes: General Zod's speed seems to extend to his reflexes as well, as he managed to catch several punches from the equivalently fast Superman, and avoid several strikes from his equally fast opponent. ** Invulnerability: General Zod's body is nigh-invulnerable, virtually indestructible. Hence, he can withstand the extreme heat of massive explosions, the extreme cold of the Arctic, an exposure to the vacuum of outer space, falls from great heights, high-calibre bullets, anti-tank depleted uranium rounds, Maverick missiles, plasma bolts from Kryptonian weaponry, other Kryptonians' heat vision (though it does cause him burning pain), and even numerous mighty blows from fellow Kryptonian Superman. *** Healing Factor: General Zod, in the rare instances when he is hurt, is capable of healing at superhuman speeds, especially in direct sunlight. However, if the injuries are serious enough to instantly kill him, his healing factor will not be able to save him, which is what happened when Superman killed him by breaking Zod's neck. ** Flight: General Zod can fly due to him being able to manipulate his own gravity field (since Earth's gravity is lighter than Krypton's) and absorbing yellow sunlight. Combined with his speed, Zod can fly at tremendous supersonic speeds, allowing him to take off into the atmosphere and even outer space and land safely back onto the planet's surface with ease. ** Super Breath: General Zod, as long as he is in exposed to yellow solar radiation and can access his energy stores, is capable of surviving without the need to breathe, allowing him to remain in the vacuum of outer space for lengthy periods of time without suffocation. ** Enhanced Vision: General Zod has superhuman eyesight far beyond that of humans. He possesses a superior sensory arrangement of telescopic, infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma ray visual capabilities. He can see the entire electromagnetic spectrum when he desires, through mental focus. However, when his visor first broke open, he was initially overwhelmed by his multiple spectrum vision, though he managed to hone his senses and bypass that weakness shortly before his final duel with Superman. *** X-Ray Vision: General Zod, when his visor first broke open, was initially overwhelmed by the sudden intensity of his X-ray vision (which enabled him to see through all objects and people), and was unable to control it. However, he was finally able to gain control over it through focus before his final duel. The only known materials known to be impenetrable to Zod's X-ray vision are lead, the force field of a Kryptonian Breather, as well as the Kryptonian metal which the walls of Scout Ship 0344 were composed of. *** Heat Vision: General Zod has the ability to fire thick beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it with the conscious act of activating this power. Visually, the power manifests as two thick laser-like beams of red light firing from his eyes. ** Super Hearing: General Zod, when his visor first broke open, was initially overwhelmed by the sudden intensity of his hearing, and was unable to control it. However, Zod was finally able to gain control over it through focus before his final battle, now being able to exclude ambient sounds in order to focus on a specific source or frequency. Abilities * Gifted Intelligence: General Zod, despite his often angry tone and demeanour, is in fact exceptionally intelligent, with Superman, upon meeting him, concluding from Zod's facial expression that the latter was "equally intelligent" to Jor-El, Krypton's foremost scientist, although Jor-El ultimately proved to outsmart Zod due to being much calmer, more intellectually experienced and wiser. Zod's intellect mainly extends to his leadership, polyglottic, intimidation, tactical, and other military skills, though the thinking boundaries programmed into General Zod's engineered DNA occasionally make him imperfect in utilising these skills. * Expert Leader: Zod, as the General of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild and the Sword of Rao, was a highly skilled and charismatic leader, inspiring fierce loyalty from all of his allies, since even after his Kryptonian Civil War had failed, they still looked up to Zod and unquestionably followed his lead for the 33 years that Zod tirelessly searched for Kal-El, the growth codex, and a planet suitable for terraforming into a New Krypton. * Master Tactician: Zod, as the General of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild and the Sword of Rao, was highly skilled and capable tactician, though the thinking boundaries programmed into his engineered DNA occasionally make Zod tactics and strategies imperfect. This, he was able wage and initially win the Kryptonian Civil War, overthrowing the Kryptonian Law Counciland killing High Eminence Ro-Zar, along with many Sapphire Guards, though Zod would ultimately be defeated by the remaining Guards. After escaping the Phantom Zone and faced with Krypton's destruction, Zod swiftly came up with effective strategies to help himself and his Sword of Rao loyalists survive - having Jax-Ur equip the Black Zero with a Phantom Drive, collecting resources from old Kryptonian colonial outposts, and searching for a suitable planet to terraform into a new Krypton. Once on Earth, General Zod came up with an effective strategy to force Superman to turn himself over to him, then later one to learn the Growth Codex's location, and then finally one to terraform Earth into a New Krypton. Zod, however, ultimately failed with his final apocalyptic strategy, due to the free willed Superman successfully undermining it. * Polyglotism: General Zod, apart from his native Kryptonian, was somehow able to quickly learn how to fluently understand and speak many of Earth's languages, which included English, as well as Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Nepali, Chinese, Japanese, and Yoruba. * Expert Combatant: Zod, as the General of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild, is a highly fierce, formidable and ruthless combatant, being incredibly skilled in a vast array of Kryptonian martial arts, second only to Faora in this regard. Hence, Zod managed to fight equally in a prolonged fight with the extremely skilled Jor-El, and also could maintain the upper hand for the majority of his fierce final battle with Superman, despite his better familiarity with his alien superpowers, with Superman only winning because he took advantage of Zod's momentary loss of focus at the duel's end. Hence, even without his powers, General Zod is still extremely dangerous and versatile in battle and absolutely lethal. * Expert Marksman: General Zod was a highly skilled marksman, easily shooting down High Eminence Ro-Zar from all the way across the large Legislation Chamber. * Expert Pilot: General Zod was a highly skilled pilot, managing to swiftly fly the huge Scout Ship 0344 into Metropolis, catching Lois Lane, Dr. Hamilton, and Colonel Hardy off-guard, and would have successfully shot them out of the sky and thwarted their plan, had it not been for the timely intervention of Superman. * Indomitable Will: General Zod's tremendous determination and strength of will make him an extremely formidable opponent. Even when his Kryptonian Civil War failed and with him helpless and at the mercy of High Eminence Lor-Em, Zod refused to be intimidated, and went so far as to mock the former and spit at his feet in defiance, and only silently gritted his teeth while being painfully frozen into a cryocapsule. Upon his unexpected release from the Phantom Zone, Zod, unlike Faora, refused to fall into despair, and tirelessly lead his followers on a 33-year-long search for a planet suitable for terraforming, never seeming to lose hope. Hence, due to his great willpower and determination, Zod, unlike Superman, never experienced the weakness of mental power suppression, and was at his full strength potential upon absorbing a yellow sun's radiation. It was also though his sheer willpower and determination that Zod eventually overcame his temporary weakness of overloaded senses within Earth's atmosphere, and swiftly mastered the power of flight. Even when Superman managed to thwart Zod's plans and robbed the latter of his life purpose, Zod, while devastated, was as determined as ever, this time to destroy humanity in revenge for his defeat, refusing to stop until a reluctant Superman killed him. Equipment Former Equipment As the General of the Warrior Guild, Zod originally had access to all of the weaponry the guild is equipped with, though he lost that privilege after losing the Kryptonian Civil War and getting imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. After escaping the Zone with the Black Zero, however, General Zod once against gradually became well-equipped, salvaging all the weapons he could find from the old colonial outposts of Krypton, most notably, a fearsome World Engine. * Kryptonian Battle Armour: Zod, as a Kryptonian of the Warrior Guild, was hardly ever seen not wearing a suit of extremely durable and fiercely intimidating Kryptonian battle armour, equipped with a Breather. However, he discarded it after finally mastering his power of flight. * Command Key: General Zod's piece of highly advanced Kryptonian technology, made of Liquid Geo, which allowed him to operate and use Scout Ship 0344 and to destroy the artificial intelligence of Jor-El. It would later be used by Lex Luthor to assume command of the ship. * Space Suit: General Zod wore this protective suit in airless or otherwise dangerous space environments. * Black Zero: General Zod's former prison starship, re-purposed into his residence and means of transportation after the destruction of Krypton. It was, however, ultimately sucked into the Phantom Zone. * World Engine: General Zod's ultimate weapon, utilised by General Zod during his attempt to terraform Earth into New Krypton. It was, however, ultimately destroyed by Superman. * Mind-probing Machine: General Zod utilised this device to telepathically probe the minds of both Superman and Lois Lane, in order to discover the Codex's location. This machine projects its patient's and user's thoughts into a single background visual image, which changes according to swings in their mood or opinions. Weapons * Kryptonian Plasma Rifle: General Zod was wielding a Kryptonian plasma rifle while overthrowing the Law Council during the Kryptonian Civil War, with him using it to kill High Eminence Ro-Zar. It was, however, ultimately confiscated by the Sapphire Guards. Vehicles * Kryptonian Dropship: General Zod has his own personal Kryptonian dropship, in which he flew down to Scout Ship 0344 in the Arctic. Relationships Category:Characters Category:Kryptonians Category:Villains Category:House of Zod Members Category:Kryptonian Warrior Guild Members Category:Sword of Rao Members